NGPF Blog

In this weekly blog post, the Curriculum team will highlight Just One Resource from our NGPF collection that maybe doesn't get the attention it deserves. Use it this week or bookmark it for later.
[The Resource] INTERACTIVE: Shady Sam
The Gist: Students play loan shark in this engaging game where they see loans from the perspective of a lender as they try to maximize their profits.
The Best Parts:
Students decide between three loan options for...

Happy New Year! Our first reading list of the year includes a couple of pieces that take a look back at 2018, including the wild ride on the stock market, as well as some "newer" news. Enjoy!
Personal Finance
Our friend Barbara O’Neill provides a great overview of what happened in the world of Personal Finance in 2018. (Journal of Financial Planning)
Beth Kobliner examines a Brooking Institute report on Artificial Intelligence and relates it to Financial Literacy....

PBS Two Cents made a big splash on the scene in 2018. Philip Olson and Julia Lorenz-Olson create engaging videos that do a great job explaining personal finance concepts in ways that your students will understand. We added several of their videos to our video library and you can also hear their story on the NGPF Podcast.
I reached out to Philip today and he was kind enough to share the "top 5" videos he and Julia produced in 2018 (based on Facebook and YouTube views). Beth has also created...

Personal Finance
Kids and Christmas – tis that season once again, and Michelle Singletary shares some advice for keeping the spending under control. (Spoiler Alert: it can get easier if they no longer believe in Santa. (WAPO)
Are you caring for a parent? Michelle Singletary looks at both the personal and financial burden of caring for a loved one. (WAPO)
Millennials' spending habits have had significant impact on the economy. A new Fed study explains why they aren't spending (like...

Data visualization provides a county-by-county view on housing affordability. Here's the map of the U.S.:
First, a little orientation. The map is color-coded based on the calculation of median home value divided by the median household income. As an example, here's Crook County, Wyoming:
The higher the ratio, the lower the housing affordability. In terms of the color-coding, blue is more affordable while orange-red is least affordable.
Questions:
What housing affordability trends...

Question of the Day, Student Loans, Mortgages, Research, Chart of the Week

Answer: 25-30 Year Old with $50K in student debt
Hat tip to NGPF Fellow Brian Page for sharing this awesome Question of the Day and chart below that he has used successfully in his classroom.
Questions:
Overall, what has been the trend with all 25-30 year olds buying homes since 2005? What might explain this? [Hint: What happened in 2008-09?]
Why do you think that 25-30 year olds who are current with $50K in student debt buy homes at greater rate than those with no student debt?...

Investing, Question of the Day, Chart of the Week, Mortgages, Research

Hat tip to A Wealth of Common Sense blog for this awesome data distilled from Case-Shiller/FRED index of home prices:
Notes:
Positive is number of years that home prices rose in the period 1987-2018
Negative is the number of years that home prices declined in period 1987-2018
Biggest gain is the largest gain in home prices on a year-over-year basis.
Biggest loss is the largest loss in home prices on a year-over-year basis.
Annual Gains is the average annual gain in home prices over this...

Parenting
The WSJ takes a good look at the overprotected American child. You probably see the impacts on the students you teach.
Michelle Singletary explains why parents should have “the talk” (about credit) with their kids.
Here are eight things parents can do to help their college students become financially independent.
And here is what you do if your adult children want to move home.
Education
The New York Times looks at education spending over time. (Hint: it...

Answer Student loan debt. Student loans had a 10.7% delinquency rate (over 90 days past due) vs. mortgage debt which had a delinquency rate of 1.2% in 1Q 2018.
Questions:
What is the major difference between how a lender evaluates a consumer taking out a mortgage vs. how the government evaluates a student taking out a federal student loan?
What do you think happens if someone stops making payments on their mortgage? On their student loan?
Why do you think that more than 1 in...

This second quarter update deals mostly with credit cards and credit scores, but we touch on managing mortgages and financial infidelity.
Credit Cards/Score
Ever wonder what to do with that credit card you never use? There is not necessarily one answer for all situations.
Do you know exactly what happens when if you make a late credit card payment?
How about what happens when you don’t pay off your credit card balance in full?
This one might make you think twice about opening a joint...

Nerdwallet research shows average household debt for 4Q17 increased slightly in every category but auto loans (see chart below*).
Peer-to-peer lending may not be as disruptive to credit markets as once thought.
Here is the lowdown on what higher interest rates will mean for borrowers.
Credit Cards
You might want to consider these tips to get your financial house in order before applying for a credit card.
Credit card companies and other lenders are facing increasing delinquencies and defaults...

Answer: 64%
Questions:
In what regions of the U.S. is it cheaper to rent than to buy? What do you think explains these regional differences?
If you could live in your dream city/state, which city would you live in? Would you rent or buy?
Millennials are “delaying purchasing [a home] for a median of seven years” according to MarketWatch. Why do you think explains this?
Do you have a desire to buy a house at some point in the future?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for...

Answer: Thank you
Fascinating research findings from Columbia Business School found that loan applications can tell quite a bit about a loan applicant [hat tip to Daniel Pink whose podcast had passing reference to this research]. Here's why word choice matters:
“When it comes to applying for a loan, everyone has a ‘tell,’” said Netzer. “Our findings suggest that similar to body language effects, people leave traces of their intentions, their financial and...

Answer: $247,000 (as of October 2017)
From National Association of Realtors:
"The median existing-home price2 for all housing types in October was $247,000, up 5.5 percent from October 2016 ($234,100). October's price increase marks the 68th straight month of year-over-year gains.Total housing inventory3 at the end of October decreased 3.2 percent to 1.80 million existing homes available for sale, and is now 10.4 percent lower than a year ago (2.01 million) and has fallen...

Hat tip to Big Picture blog who brought this well produced and engaging 10 minute video to my attention. It provides an historical perspective on how cities developed and the factors that determine where people live in in the U.S. compared to Europe. This would be a good supplement to your budgeting lesson as housing costs tend to be the largest expense so where you live is consequential:
Questions for students:
Why did cities in Europe develop differently than those in the U.S.?
Where do rich...

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